HomeFuneral resources
Funeral resources
Practical guidance on arranging a funeral, what your rights are, and how to avoid paying more than you need to.
Memorial service
What a memorial service is, how it differs from a funeral, what to wear, and why it costs far less.
Aquamation, or water cremation
What water cremation is, what it costs against flame cremation, and which states allow it.
Burial assistance for low income families
Real help with funeral costs when there is no money, including county programmes, veterans benefits and body donation.
Whole body donation to medical science
What whole body donation involves, what the family pays, what comes back and when, why a donation can be refused on the day, and how it differs from r.
Choosing a funeral home
The itemised price list is the only real comparison tool, and the law says you must be given one.
Cremation urns
How to size an urn using the one cubic inch per pound rule, what each material costs, scattering tubes and keepsakes, the rules on posting and flying.
Cremation vs burial
Cremation with a service averages $6,280 and a direct cremation $2,202.
The death certificate
Who files the death certificate, how long it takes, what a certified copy costs, how many to order and which organisations insist on an original rathe.
Direct cremation
Direct cremation averages $2,202 nationally and is the least expensive funeral option in every state.
Funeral etiquette
Practical guidance for anybody attending a funeral or a visitation.
Funeral planning checklist
A working checklist for arranging a funeral. What must be done in the first hours, the decisions that follow, every document the estate will ask for a.
How families get overcharged for funerals
Casket markups, unnecessary embalming, protective caskets and vaults that preserve nothing, and package pricing that hides declinable items.
Green burial
Natural burial uses no embalming, no vault and no metal.
How to plan a funeral
What to do in the first 24 hours, the first week and the first month after a death, with a printable checklist, the documents to gather, who to notify.
Military funeral honors
Every eligible veteran is entitled by law to military funeral honours on request.
Prepaid funeral plans
How a prepaid funeral contract is funded, what a price guarantee does and does not cover, revocable against irrevocable, what happens if you move or t.
The Social Security death benefit
The one-time lump sum death payment is $255 and has not changed since 1954.
Veterans funeral benefits
Burial in a national cemetery at no cost, a burial allowance of up to $2,000 for a service connected death, $978 for many others, plus a headstone, a.
What to do when someone dies
Who to call first, who pronounces the death, who is allowed to move the person, and which decisions can safely wait until tomorrow.
Writing an obituary
What belongs in an obituary and in what order, what to leave out for safety, where to publish it, how newspapers charge by the line, and the free alte.